Cordially Invited
by Ralinde
Summary: "Percival Ignatius? Really, that's your full name?" Audrey chuckles. "Poor you." A part of him screams to snatch the parchment away so she can't come too close to his personal life, yet another part of him wants her as closely involved as possible. - In which Percy receives a letter that reveals more about him to Audrey than he might feel comfortable with.


Disclaimer: Still haven't brewn that Polyjuice Potion that could turn me into JKR.

* * *

"Good morning Perce!" Audrey says cheerfully from the bathroom. "You're up early today, eager to go to work?"

He does not hear her though. He sits perfectly still and stares at the piece of paper in front of him.

"Perce?"

She enters the kitchen while she's drying her hair, and this time, he _does_ notice. How could he not with Audrey looking the way she does?

He manages a flat "Hey."

"What's wrong? Oh please tell me you're not one of those 'don't talk to me when I'm just out of bed' kind of persons!"

He smiles at her in what he hopes is a reassuring way. "I'm not."

"Then what is it? Do you have... regrets about last night?"

This time he gives her a genuine smile. "Of course not." It was the first time Audrey had spent the night and though it was awkward at first, he _certainly_ doesn't have any regrets about it.

"Good." She sighs, he can see she's relieved.

"Come," he beckons and as she nears, he pulls her in closer. "Don't you ever for even one second think I have doubts about you, about us." He kisses her. "Ever."

"All right, I won't." She playfully steals his glasses and puts them on. She gives him a quasi-menacing glare. "Don't ever make me doubt again. Ever."

"I won't," he promises and kisses her again. "Can I have my glasses back? I can't see much without them."

"Only if you promise me not to look so grim anymore."

"Deal."

She hands him back his glasses and as he puts them back on, she notices the envelope on the table.

"I did not know the mail came so early in this part of London."

Before he can stop her, she picks up the envelop. "Whoa, whoever sent you this is extremely detailed in their addressing."

His heart is beating rapidly and his mind is racing. _What can he tell her that won't reveal anything that falls under the Statute of Secrecy?_

"Percival _Ignatius_? Really, that's your full name?" She chuckles. "Poor you."

"My grandfather on my mother's side was called Ignatius," he says. "It can be worse though, my brother Charlie's middle name is Septimus, after our paternal grandfather."

"I'm not convinced Septimus is worse than Ignatius, they're both horribly outdated."

He feels a bit hurt. He had always liked his middle name, he thought it gave him some allure. After all, it was derived from the name of one of the Peverell brothers from the Tales of Beedle the Bard he had been so fond of as a child. But then he remembers that of course Audrey would have no clue about that and so he gives the only possible answer. "You're quite right."

Audrey still holds the envelope, studying it carefully.

"And Percival? Quite an unusual name as well. Though I have heard of it before. Wait, don't say a word..." she muses for a while and just as he's about to tell her, her face lits up. "I remember, King Arthur's loyal knight!" she says triumphantly. "Are your parents fans of the legend?"

He tenses. _King Arthur's loyal knight..._ Her playful remark brings back memories of his youth. _Painful memories of the days where he was just a toddler, sitting on his father's shoulders, 'conquering' the world, running around the orchard...; the days where he would read his parents and brothers made-up stories about King Arthur and his most faithful knight Percival; the days where he played with his siblings, where his mother was the only woman in his life and where his father was his biggest idol. _How very different from his current situation...

Audrey is still looking at him expectantly and he realises she expects an answer.

"My father's name's Arthur."

"Please tell me you mother's name isn't Guinevere," she grins, "Although, it would be rather awesome, come to think about it, if that were the case."

He shakes his head. "Her name's Molly. But my sister's called Ginevra, which is derived from Guinevere."

"Do all of you have legendary names?" she inquires.

"No."

"Then why..."

"Look, give it a rest, okay? No one picks their own name."

She looks taken aback and he immediately apologises. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

"No, you're right, it's none of my business."

Her eyes shift back to the envelope, more to stir the conversation in another direction than because she's curious. "So, this letter..." she says, "... and the overcomplete addressing of it... who'd address a letter like this?"

"Well, at first I thought it was my former employer, but.."_ Of course he had never _really_ thought that since the seal was missing, but just for a moment he had wondered if maybe the Ministry would beg for him to come back to his former job and that they had omitted the Ministreal seal deliberately as to not draw unwanted attention to themselves and Percy and_... He shakes his head. It is a silly thought. And besides, these days lie past him.

"But?"

"But it wasn't."

A part of him screams to snatch the parchment away so she can't come too close to his personal life, yet another part of him wants her as closely involved as possible.

"Here, you can read for yourself," he hears himself say as he hands her the piece of paper.

"Are you sure?"

He isn't, but he nods anyway. _She won't find any details about the wizarding world in there_, he reasons with himself. And questions about his family, well, he can handle them, however unpleasant they'll be to answer. It's bound to happen someday anyway.

She carefully takes the piece of paper from him and starts reading out loud.

"You are cordially invited to the wedding of William Arthur Weasley and Fleur Isabelle Delacour..." She lowers the parchment. "Percy, your brother is getting married!"

"It would appear so."

"This is a good thing, right? I remember you telling me you had a fall-out with your family, but here's your brother, inviting you to his wedding..."

"That's not Bill's handwriting on the envelope."

"So, maybe his fiancée wrote the envelope. But they want you to be present at one of the most important days of their lifes. They are reaching out to you."

She smiles encouragingly at him.

He considers this for a moment. "Maybe you're right."

"So, are you going?"

He shakes his head. _He can't go._

"What? Why not? Don't you want to leave the past behind?"

"It's not as easy as that," he says and clenches his teeth. "Too much has happened and it has been too long." _Bill might be forgiving and Charlie has always been pretty laidback, and he's pretty sure his mother will smother him with affection and _maybe_ his father could find it in himself to forgive him... but Fred, George, Ron, Ginny... they'd all roast him alive and hex him into the next century given the opportunity. And Bill's wedding was hardly the occasion to give them that opportunity.  
_

"I see," she says quietly and then she puts the invitation back down, walks over to him and hugs him. "I forgot it had been two years since you spoke to any of them. Naturally, this opens up old wounds. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Percy appreciates her consideration and kisses her. "I'm sorry too. It's just not a subject I'm comfortable with talking about."

"I understand. I won't talk about it again, unless you want to yourself."

"Thank you. I'll tell you some day though," he promises.

"Some day works fine for me," she agrees. "When you're ready, you can tell me."

He nuzzles her hair and they remain silent for a moment.

"You know, I could send Bill a card," Percy says thoughtfully.

"I think your brother will appreciate that."

"You do?"

"Yes, I think he would. He and his fiancée are reaching out to you, and sending them a card shows that even though you won't be there in the flesh, you still care ."

"Then that's what I'll do." There's another moment of silence. "Say Audrey?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go with me to buy a card? I don't a have a clue about the kind of card I would have to buy."

"Of course," she smiles.

_He would have to figure out a way to send it to Bill and his fiancée without raising questions from Audrey, but that's something he would worry about later. _

Percy swears to himself that someday he _will_ make amends with his family, will tell Bill how sorry he was for not being there on his wedding day. But for now, he'll have to do with sending him a card, because that's just the way things are at the moment. He hopes Bill'll understand.

"You know, I'm learning new things about you daily," Audrey comments.

_Yes, and it's getting harder and harder every day not to slip up and tell you about the magical world_, he thinks, but what he says is: "Is that a bad thing or a good thing?"

"A good thing. Definitely a good thing."

"I'm glad to hear that," he murmurs.

As she kisses him gently, he forgets his worries about the magical world, and his family, and revealing any of it to Audrey and just looses himself in the moment. He's really lucky to be with her.


End file.
